Из жизни альткоинов

Bitcoin has surged past the $67,000 mark and is testing key supply levels to determine its next target. As election day approaches, the crypto market is experiencing heightened volatility, fueling expectations of a potential Bitcoin rally. 

Key data from CryptoQuant reveals that retail investors are returning to the market, marking a resurgence in demand that could signal the beginning of a broader rally. As the price continues to climb, this renewed interest from retail participants is seen as a bullish indicator, adding momentum to Bitcoin’s rise.

The cryptocurrency has also benefited from a strong buy wall on exchanges, further supporting the price and dampening selling pressure. As Bitcoin holds above crucial support levels, market sentiment remains optimistic, suggesting that further gains could be on the horizon.

The coming days will be critical for BTC and the overall market as they will determine the strength and sustainability of this upward momentum. 

Traders and investors alike are eager to see if Bitcoin can break through these key supply levels, potentially setting the stage for a new phase in its bullish trajectory.

Bitcoin Rising Fast

Bitcoin is preparing for a significant upward move, and historically, such surges happen rapidly. The entire cryptocurrency market is on the brink of an explosion, with price action and on-chain metrics indicating a strong bullish momentum. 

Top analyst and investor Axel Adler recently shared critical data from CryptoQuant, revealing that retail investors are returning. Adler presented a chart showcasing the 30-day change in Bitcoin retail investor demand, which currently stands at 7%. 

This uptick is noteworthy; a further increase of 3% would indicate robust demand from retail players, aligning with levels typically seen during bullish trends.

Retail investors play a crucial role in driving market movements. Their participation often marks the beginning of significant price escalations as they bring fresh capital and optimism. 

Historically, periods of increasing retail engagement have preceded substantial rallies, creating a positive feedback loop that fuels upward price action and enhances market sentiment.

If the momentum continues and retail demand strengthens, it may lead to rapid price increases that capture the attention of broader market participants. In this environment, the potential for explosive growth remains high, making it an exciting time for those involved in the Bitcoin ecosystem. 

BTC Pushing Above Local Highs

Bitcoin is trading at $67,600 after an impressive 8% surge since Monday. This price movement has propelled BTC above the daily 200 moving average (MA) at $63,333, marking a new local high above the previous resistance level of $66,500. 

This bullish momentum suggests that if the current trend continues, a challenge to the next significant demand level at $70,000 will likely represent the next local high on the horizon.

However, market dynamics indicate a healthy retest of the previous resistance level could occur in the coming hours. Such a retest would serve to establish support and solidify the bullish trend. If the price fails to maintain levels above $66,000, we may see a correction back to lower demand zones around $62,000, which could signal potential weaknesses in the current uptrend.

As traders keep a close watch on price action, it will be crucial to see how BTC responds to these critical levels. Overall, the outlook remains optimistic, but caution is warranted as the market seeks to confirm the strength of this latest rally.

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

Согласно отчету гонконгской компании по управлению активами Aspen Digital, 74% семейных офисов в Азии уже инвестировали в цифровые активы, а еще 18% собираются сделать это в будущем.

Сооснователь Эфириума Виталик Бутерин опубликовал в блоге статью, в которой описывает ключевые цели для развития Эфириума, в том числе, рост пропускной способности основной сети и сетей второго уровня до 100 000 транзакций в секунду.

Dogecoin has just witnessed a rally of around 10% after on-chain data signaled a mass exodus of holders from the DOGE network.

Dogecoin Has Seen A Jump Of Almost 12% Over The Past Day

This week has brought bullish winds in the cryptocurrency sector as a whole, but among the top coins, one asset in particular has stood out: Dogecoin. The meme-based token has managed to surpass the $0.127 level after registering an uplift of nearly 12% during the last 24 hours.

For perspective, Bitcoin (BTC) is up around 4% in the same window, while Shiba Inu (SHIB), DOGE’s rival-coin, is up about 5%. The asset has also performed well in terms of weekly returns, with only Bitcoin Cash (BCH) with its 12% returns coming close to DOGE’s 14% profits.

The DOGE market cap has now grown to $18.5 billion, as the below table displays.

DOGE at the 8th position on the top cryptocurrency list now has a comfortable gap over Tron (TRX) in the 9th place, but the coin is still nowhere near XRP (XRP) in 7th, so its place in the sector is unlikely to change in the near future. The latest Dogecoin rally has come under interesting circumstances, as on-chain data indicates that a large amount of holders had only recently decided to give up on the memecoin.

DOGE Total Amount Of Holders Has Plunged Recently

According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, the Total Amount Of Holders has registered a steep drop for Dogecoin recently. The “Total Amount Of Holders” here refers to an indicator that, as its name suggests, keeps track of the total number of DOGE addresses that are currently carrying a balance.

Below is the chart shared by the analytics firm that shows the trend in this DOGE metric over the last few months:

From the graph, it’s apparent that the Dogecoin Total Amount of Holders has seen a significant decline recently, implying that a large amount of users have decided to clear out their holdings on the network.

More specifically, around 106,600 addresses have emptied themselves out during the past week, which has sent the indicator down to 6.62 million, the lowest value since April. It’s possible that these were the investors fed up by the bearish price action of the memecoin, so they decided to leave for greener pastures. In an ironic twist of fate, however, Dogecoin has shown a better surge than any of the other top coins since these traders have left.

The capitulation from the weak hands also means that the current rally could have higher chances of success, as the coins released by these investors may have been picked up by traders with a stronger conviction, who could be willing to sit on their profits for a while longer.

Crypto asset management giant Grayscale has recently announced its consideration of expanding its offerings to include products based on the popular meme cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. In a recent blog post, Grayscale highlighted that Dogecoin has caught the company’s attention as a potential asset for future investment products. As the king of meme coins, a Dogecoin-based crypto product would be a turning point for the entire meme coin niche. 

Dogecoin Product To Hit The Market Soon?

This extensive portfolio includes top-tier digital assets such as Bitcoin, the number one cryptocurrency by market cap, alongside a variety of innovative and emerging tokens like Filecoin (FIL), Bittensor (TAO), and Decentraland (MANA), to name a few. 

Grayscale’s involvement in such a wide spectrum of cryptocurrencies makes it the most actively engaged asset manager within the digital asset space. However, despite its diverse offerings, the asset manager has yet to consider products based on a meme cryptocurrency until now. 

According to the blog post, Dogecoin is one of a few cryptocurrencies currently under consideration for Grayscale. Grayscale broke down its list of cryptocurrencies under consideration into five primary categories: currencies, smart contract platforms, financials, culture, and utilities. 

Most of the assets under review fall within the categories of smart contracts and utilities, which focus on blockchain technology innovations and practical applications. However, Dogecoin stands out, as it has been placed in the “consumption and culture” category, which covers cryptocurrencies that cater to consumer-driven activities.

What Does This Mean For DOGE?

Grayscale’s consideration of a Dogecoin product shows the increasing recognition of meme-based cryptocurrencies. Until recently, Grayscale was the largest crypto asset manager in terms of investments for many years. However, Grayscale was recently unseated by BlackRock after the latter’s Spot Bitcoin and Spot Ethereum ETFs exceeded Grayscale’s funds.

Nevertheless, a Dogecoin ETF would open the door for huge capital inflows from traditional investors, who have previously been reluctant to engage with meme coins. This, in turn, could help legitimize Dogecoin and other meme coins like Shiba Inu and Floki.

On the other hand, the Dogecoin blockchain has been infused with growing activity in the past seven days. According to recent on-chain data, this surge in network participation has pushed the number of daily active addresses on the Dogecoin network to its highest point in eight months.

At the time of writing, Dogecoin is trading at $0.1188 and has increased by 2.4% in the past 24 hours. Notably, the Dogecoin trading volume has increased by 42% in the same time frame, which also points to a surge in activity on the blockchain. 

The Dogecoin price has also increased by 16% in the past 30 days and is now on the verge of breaking through an order block of $0.12 on October 1. A break above this level would put Dogecoin towards a minimum target of $0.129. 

A political action committee supporting former President Donald Trump has raised approximately $7.5 million in crypto donations since early June, according to a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission. The Trump 47 joint fundraising committee received contributions in Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, as well as stablecoins Tether and USD Coin.

The latest filing, submitted on Tuesday, covers donations from July 1 through September 30 and includes cumulative contributions. This huge amount of crypto donations confirms the previous data, which confirmed that the industry is betting heavily on Trump, with the US election only three weeks away.

Bitcoin And Crypto Donations Bolster Trump Campaign

Trump, who previously expressed skepticism toward Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies during his presidency, has repositioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate. In May, he became the first major presidential contender to accept campaign donations in digital assets. “The campaign has raised $25 million from the crypto industry,” Trump announced during a keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville in July.

Nearly half of all corporate money flowing into the upcoming election has come from the crypto sector, according to a report by the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen. Major contributors include Coinbase, Ripple, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, collectively accounting for a significant portion of business donations. The industry has raised roughly 13 times the amount it brought in during the last presidential election cycle.

At least 18 donors contributed more than $5.5 million in Bitcoin to the Trump 47 committee, while another seven individuals donated around $1.5 million in Ether, as per the filing. Contributors hail from over 15 states, including key battlegrounds, as well as the US territory of Puerto Rico. Their professions range from software engineers at defense contractor Lockheed Martin to sales engineers at Duthie Power Services and producers at Esperanza Entertainment.

David Bailey, CEO of media group BTC Inc., contributed over $498,000 in Bitcoin. Bailey was instrumental in “orange-pilling” Trump, culminating in the former president’s participation in the Nashville conference. Mike Belshe, CEO of digital asset security firm BitGo, donated nearly $100,000 in Bitcoin. Brian Murray, a partner at Craft Ventures—founded by pro-Trump venture capitalist David Sacks—gave $6,560 in Bitcoin.

Trevor Traina, founder of Kresus Labs, donated over $25,000 in Ether. Bruce Fenton, CEO of Chainstone Labs, contributed $60,000 in Bitcoin. Gary Cardone of Cardone Digital Ventures donated over $840,000 in Bitcoin. Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, contributed $300,000 in XRP and attended a Trump fundraising event hosted by David Sacks in San Francisco in June.

Alderoty’s contribution contrasts with that of Ripple’s co-founder Chris Larsen, who donated $1 million worth of XRP tokens to Future Forward, a super PAC associated with Democratic campaigns. While the Biden administration has taken a stringent stance toward the crypto industry, Larsen expressed confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris’s understanding of the innovation economy due to her Bay Area roots.

“She knows people who have grown up in the innovation economy her whole life,” Larsen told CNBC. “I think she gets it at a fundamental level, in a way that I think the Biden folks were just not paying attention to, or maybe just didn’t make the connection between empowering workers and making sure you have American champions dominating their industries.”

In addition to Larsen, Marvin Ammori, General Counsel at Uniswap Labs—which is currently facing legal challenges over alleged securities law violations—also contributed to political action committees aligned with Democratic interests. On the pro-Trump side, billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have significantly supported the campaign, each contributing nearly $1.1 million. Some of these funds were refunded in September due to exceeding legal contribution limits.

Among the new donors is Chase Herro, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, Trump’s new crypto project. The platform aims to function as a decentralized bank, encouraging users to borrow, lend, and invest in cryptocurrencies. Despite launching its token sale with an initial fundraising goal of $300 million, the project has so far sold over $10.2 million worth of WLFI tokens. The launch faced technical issues, including website crashes during the sale.

At press time, BTC traded at $67,989.

Dogecoin, the largest meme coin, continues to attract a series of bold predictions from several market experts about its potential in the short and long term following its recent price increase in the past few days, triggered by a broader positive sentiment in the general crypto market.

Short-Term Rally Target For Dogecoin Set At $2.7

In an audacious prognosis, Master Kenobi, a crypto expert and trader, has pointed out an insightful potential scenario for Dogecoin that could send the dog-themed meme coin to unprecedented heights in the short term. Kenobi took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share the bold prediction, triggering a wave of optimism in the DOGE community.

Specifically, the expert is confident that DOGE could hit $2.7 by December, suggesting a bullish breakout in the upcoming days. His bold prediction about DOGE reaching a new all-time high is based on past cycle trends, which preceded massive rallies over time, along with its current price performances.

According to Master Kenobi, DOGE continues to move in the same direction as the last cycle, which began the last bull run with four green weeks followed by two red weeks. However, the close of the week will determine whether the pattern will persist, validating another major move on the upside.

Should this scenario from the previous cycle repeat itself, Kenobi claims Dogecoin might hit the green line indicated in his chart, which is positioned at roughly $0.39 in about two weeks, particularly on October 28.

He further added that after an additional five weeks, around December 1, the meme coin might approach the orange line, which is set at $2.7. “I know it sounds incredible, but nothing stops me from imagining, if it happens, we could see DOGE at $2.7 in December,” he stated.

Nonetheless, given the volatile nature of crypto assets, investors are closely watching DOGE’s renewed price performance in hopes that the newfound momentum would trigger a much larger rally to unprecedented levels in the ongoing bull cycle.

A Constant Decline In DOGE Holders

Despite recent positive price movements, investors might be pessimistic about Dogecoin as the number of DOGE holders has been decreasing steadily in the past few days.

According to data from market intelligence Santiment, the persistent decline began on October 8. During this time, the platform noted that a total of 106,600 non-empty DOGE wallets have been lost, indicating possible struggles for the meme coin.

Santiment also added that due to dissatisfaction with the performance of DOGE, traders have been turning elsewhere for fast pumps, which suggests a shift in sentiment within the Dogecoin community. Thus far, this negative trend has caused speculations about the stability of DOGE in the long term since such developments could influence future price movements should the trend persist.

Shiba Inu executive Lucie has announced SHIB’s “game-changing” partnership with Mass Finance.  This significant development could help boost Shiba Inu’s adoption and onboard new users into the meme coin’s ecosystem. 

Shiba Inu Announces Game-Changing Partnership

Lucie announced in an X post that Shiba Inu had partnered with Mass Finance, a development she claimed would usher in a new financial era for the Shiba State. The finance company is powered by Stripe payments and helps facilitate seamless money transmission and account services. 

With such support from traditional financial institutions, Lucie remarked that Mass is set to become the “financial layer” of the Shiba State. The finance company will use its AI-driven legal and fiscal solutions to help simplify financial processes and make it easier for businesses to operate within the Shiba Inu ecosystem. 

Mass Finance will serve as an on-ramp for these businesses between the web2 and web3 ecosystems. Lucie said the firm will enable efficient fund management and compliance, fostering growth and innovation across the meme coin’s ecosystem. The SHIB exec further remarked that one of the major benefits of this collaboration is the ease of onboarding. 

According to her, Mass’s streamlined and user-friendly solutions will help lower the barrier for new businesses and users to enter the Shiba Inu ecosystem. This will help accelerate adoption and pave the way for wider participation. 

She added that the partnership will empower the Shiba State with “cutting-edge financial tools, ensuring a stronger, more accessible future for all participants in the ecosystem.”

This announcement comes just days after legendary automobile manufacturer DeLorean Motors showed support for Shiba Inu and teased about potentially accepting the meme coin as a payment option for its cars. Such a move will help boost SHIB’s adoption and further ignite the competition between Shiba Inu and Dogecoin since Elon Musk has stated that DOGE will eventually become a payment option for Tesla. 

SHIB Cancels ShibaCon Conference

These bullish developments for Shiba Inu come amid the announcement that the ShibaCon conference will no longer be held as planned. The inaugural event was scheduled for November 9 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, the official Shiba Inu X account announced that it was being postponed to secure an even more “exciting experience” for attendees. 

There was no information on when exactly the ShibaCon conference will now be held. Meanwhile, the SHIB account mentioned that ticket holders will be contacted and fully refunded. To thank these ticket holders for their support, they will receive a VIP ticket for free when the Shiba Inu team announces a new place and date for the conference. 

At the time of writing, Shiba Inu is trading at around $0.000018, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

A United Kingdom-based regulatory body raised concerns that TikTok’s virtual currency could be used by unscrupulous groups in their money laundering activities.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) underscored the increasing concerns surrounding TikTok Coins and served as a cautionary note on the platform. Some feared that the virtual currency could be tapped to elude traditional regulations and policies, which are crafted to curb anti-money laundering activities.

FCA is a financial regulatory office that keeps an eye on and monitors financial institutions in the UK to ensure they abide by the existing regulations that aim to stop money laundering and financing of terrorism.

TikTok Can Be A Tool For Money Laundering

The UK’s financial watchdog said that the agency received a letter from a compliance consultant previously working for a premier private bank to set alarm bells ringing on the app being utilized as an unlicensed cryptocurrency platform.

TIKTOK ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY OPERATING AS A CRYPTO EXCHANGE IN THE UK

– A former compliance consultant accused TikTok of acting as an unregistered crypto exchange in a letter to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

– TikTok’s reward system allows users to buy virtual… https://t.co/YqvGemx8jK pic.twitter.com/Yrd3OzkkxI

— BSCN (@BSCNews) October 15, 2024

According to the complaint letter, the popular social media platform permits its users to become a hub for anti-money laundering acts since its virtual currency can be exchanged for real money, saying that the platform does not have sufficient controls to ensure that its system is not being exploited for illegal activities.

The rewards program offered by TikTok facilitates the transfer of user’s funds to money service enterprises. It allowed users to purchase TikTok Coins, which they can give as presents to the content creators. After that, these gifts are traded for “diamonds,” which may be swapped for fiat currency.

The letter further highlighted the concerns raised about anonymous transactions being done in cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency may become the digital tools of money launderers to hide their illicit activities, since oversight is lacking in transactions which bad actors can capitalize to conceal the origins of their dirty money.

FCA Urged To Step In

The compliance consultant claimed that in practical terms, the company is exchanging cryptocurrency assets for cash without registering with the FCA.

It becomes clear that there are issues with the platform’s current structure, particularly about its capability of transferring money which is exempted from legal restrictions imposed on financial transactions.

Once FCA steps in, the platform’s financial operations could be audited, particularly its virtual currency system, and be subjected to laws governing digital currencies and money transmission services.

TikTok’s Long Lists Of Allegations

TikTok has once again been put under scrutiny for allegedly functioning as an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange in the UK without securing any license from the FCA.

Likewise, Australian authorities are closely examining TikTok for allegations that money involved in criminal activities are being channeled in the platform.

In the United States, authorities banned the use of TikTok to protect the privacy of Americans.

Featured image from Stern, chart from TradingView

Once a frontrunner in the meme coin phenomenon, the Dogecoin price is still struggling to break the $0.10 barrier, leaving many investors with no other option but to seek new opportunities. One such opportunity is the ETFSwap (ETFS) DeFi token, which presents a better bet than meme coins with a promise of 25,000x returns.

ETFSwap (ETFS): Offering Tokenized ETFs And High Return Potential

As a DeFi platform built on the Ethereum network, ETFSwap (ETFS) is changing the way investors interact with cryptocurrencies. It gives them the opportunity to spread their portfolios across various asset classes through tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These ETFs cut across different real-world assets (RWA) in real estate, equity, commodities, healthcare, transportation, and many other ETF currencies.

Investors looking to make 25,000x gains are attracted to incentivizing features on ETFSwap (ETFS) that amplify profit-making. One of which is that all ETFs carry a 10x marginal trading capital feature that easily qualifies them for profits of 1,000% returns. Also, investors can take advantage of the customizable trading features that allow them to adjust positions with a 50x feature, which positions their investments for 5,000% gains. In addition, ETFSwap (ETFS) rewards users who stake their tokens with annual percentage yields (APY) of at least 87%.

For ETFSwap (ETFS) to be a fierce contender in the crypto market, its robustly developed beta platform will launch in a few days. The first phase will give users the capability to participate in various liquidity pools, staking and swapping activities, and access to real-time prices of all ETF currencies. Meanwhile, the second phase of the ETFSwap (ETFS) beta platform will feature sophisticated AI-powered tools like the ETF screener, ETF filter, and ETF tracker. With this technology, ETFSwap users have a huge advantage as it prevents them from taking significant losses by highlighting the best possible ETF investment options based on overall market conditions. All of these features put ETFSwap above OG meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE).

While the Dogecoin price is still struggling to break the $0.10 barrier, demand for the ETFSwap (ETFS) DeFi token continues to rise and its deflationary token model reassures investors that the price value of ETFS will rise significantly in the coming months. To further strengthen investors confidence, ETFSwap (ETFS) has completed its KYC verification process with SolidProof, a cybersecurity and blockchain audit firm that specializes in checking vulnerabilities on blockchain projects to protect them from hackers and other fraudulent activities. Also, ETFSwap (ETFS) collaborates with MiCa-compliant institutions to provide secure backing and trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Dogecoin Price Struggle To Break Barrier

The Dogecoin price has hit a wall, with attempts to break the $0.10 barrier but has been met with strong resistance constantly. After its recent rally, the Dogecoin price now finds itself in a consolidation phase. Most experts believe that if the Dogecoin price continues to struggle at this price level, there may be a significant decline for the meme coin.

The $0.105 mark has acted as a key support in the past, and many traders are keeping an eye on the meme coin. If the Dogecoin price holds this support, it may make another attempt for the meme coin to reach $0.11. However, if the meme coin breaks below $0.105, the Dogecoin price could drop further, testing the psychological support at $0.10. A break below $0.10 would likely trigger more selling pressure, leading to deeper declines in the short term for the meme coin.

According to CoinGecko, Dogecoin (DOGE) has a market cap of $15.7 billion. As of the time of writing, the Dogecoin price is at $0.1077, reflecting a 12.3% decline in the last 14 days for the meme coin.

Join The ETFSwap (ETFS) Presale

ETFSwap (ETFS) is currently carrying out the third stage of its ICO, and has shocked the crypto world by selling over 2 billion tokens in such a short period. Poised to give investors 25,000 returns before the end of 2024, both retail and institutional investors are rapidly buying ETFS tokens at a very low price of $0.003846 each. Joining the presale now gives you a chance to take early profits, as most crypto experts tout ETFSwap (ETFS) as the best option to become a crypto millionaire.

For more information about the ETFS Presale

Visit ETFSwap Presale

Join The ETFSwap Community

 

Tesla, the electric vehicle titan helmed by Elon Musk, has transferred its entire stash of 9,720 Bitcoin —valued at over $760 million—to new, unidentified wallets. This significant move, reported by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, has stirred widespread speculation within the BTC community.

The rationale behind Tesla’s recent BTC transfer is currently unclear. Analysts are debating whether the move signals an intention to sell its holdings, acquire more BTC, or potentially reinstate payments for Tesla vehicles—a feature hinted at in the company’s software updates last year. However, definitive evidence supporting any of these theories has yet to surface.

Has Tesla Sold Its Bitcoin?

Ki Young Ju, CEO of on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, noted that it’s uncertain whether Tesla’s action represents internal wallet restructuring or a prelude to selling. He pointed out: “Tesla moved Bitcoin to other wallets. It’s still unclear if it’s internal shuffling or selling. Even if they sold, the impact would be slightly more than half of the German govt’s. Their realized profit was $816M, while Tesla’s is $515M as of today.”

Similarly, on-chain analysis firm Spot On Chain suggested that the transferred BTC likely moved to new wallets still under Tesla’s control. They highlighted that the wallets had been dormant for two years before this activity and emphasized the possibility of routine internal adjustments.

“Tesla transferred all BTC to 7 new wallets 4 hours ago after 2 years of dormancy. Note that it is likely these are just new wallets belonging to Tesla. Elon Musk has said that BTC is his “safe word” and that he still owns and won’t sell his Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin,” the firm wrote via X.

Adding context to the speculation, Elon Musk’s past statements reflect a complex relationship with Bitcoin. In December 2020, he referred to Bitcoin as his “safe word,” hinting at a personal affinity for the digital asset. Later, in March 2022, Musk mentioned that he still owns and does not plan to sell his holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin, especially as a hedge against high inflation. Despite these affirmations, Musk has also expressed skepticism, once stating that “Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money.”

However, crypto analyst Fejau questions the notion that Tesla is preparing to sell its BTC holdings. He argued that it would be illogical for Musk, a supporter of President Donald Trump who wants to establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Stockpile”, to liquidate such assets shortly before an election. “Why would Elon, a major endorser of Trump’s campaign which is very pro crypto, decide to nuke Tesla Bitcoin holdings 30 days before election. Significant lack of critical thinking going on here,” he argues.

Contrastingly, Jacob King, CEO of WhaleWire, speculated that Tesla is selling its BTC in an over-the-counter (OTC) deal, indicating a potential liquidation of their holdings. “Tesla has just moved a massive $760 million worth of Bitcoin in an OTC deal – looks like they’re dumping,” he stated via X.

At press time, BTC traded at $67,101.

The ongoing legal battle between crypto payments company, Ripple ,and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking another significant step forward this week. Both parties are preparing to take the next move forward with their appeal process. This development could have far-reaching implications on not just Ripple, but the XRP price and the crypto industry as a whole. 

Next Developments And Key Deadlines In The Ripple And SEC Lawsuit

According to Fox Business journalist, Eleanor Terrett, today marks an important date for the upcoming developments in the Ripple versus SEC legal battle. Based on the Court’s instructions, October 16 is the final deadline for the US SEC to file a Form C. As part of the process of legal appeals, a Form C is a procedural filing that outlines the details of what a party intends to appeal. 

Terrett revealed in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the SEC’s Form C will provide critical details regarding its planned appeal of Judge Analisa Torres’ July 2023 court ruling, which found that programmatic sales of XRP were not classified as securities. 

Likewise, Ripple is set to follow the SEC’s appeal movement shortly. The company will file a Form C of its cross appeal within seven days of the regulator’s filing. That is, if the SEC files a Form C today, the crypto firm is likely to file its own sometime in the coming week.  

Ripple’s filing is expected to outline its counterarguments, detailing the scope of the cross-appeal. After the submission of both Form C’s, Ripple and the SEC will then negotiate a briefing schedule, after which the regulator will have up to 90 days to file its first legal brief.

Extended Legal Battle Could Impact XRP Price

Terrett has revealed that the updates regarding the timeline of the Ripple and SEC appeal process were provided by Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Stuart Alderoty in a lengthy conversation. 

Alderoty has suggested that the SEC will likely take the full 90 days before it submits its first legal brief. This suggests that the regulator may be aiming to extend the appeal process for as long as possible. The opening brief will be a full recitation of all the legal arguments the SEC intends to make against Ripple and the Court’s favorable ruling in July 2023. 

Following the SEC’s first brief, Ripple will have the opportunity to respond and also counteract the SEC’s arguments. According to Alderoty, the full briefing process between Ripple and the SEC is expected to stretch into July 2025. 

This means that starting from December 2020, when the regulator first filed its lawsuit against Ripple, the legal battle is now poised to extend over four years, with the possibility of reaching five years if a resolution is not reached. This elongated legal battle could have severe consequences on XRP price, which is already in a state of stagnation ever since the SEC filed its lawsuit.

The cryptocurrency has been trading around the $0.5 mark for years, only seeing slight upticks to $0.6 when market conditions become more favorable. However, this price increase is always short-lived as XRP often declines to the $0.5 mark once again. 

On Wednesday, video game developer FractureLabs filed a lawsuit against crypto market maker Jump Trading. The lawsuit, reported by Bloomberg, accuses Jump of “fraud and deceit” in connection with the manipulation of the price of the DIO token, which is an integral part of FractureLabs’ online game Decimated.

DIO Token Surge And Collapse

The complaint details that in 2021, FractureLabs intended to raise funds through an initial offering of the DIO token on the Huobi exchange, which has since been renamed HTX. As part of this project, FractureLabs engaged Jump Trading as a market maker for the DIO token. 

The arrangement involved the loan of 10 million DIO tokens to a subsidiary of Jump, alongside a separate transaction where FractureLabs sent 6 million DIO tokens to Huobi for sale during the offering.

As the initial offering unfolded, Huobi reportedly enlisted online influencers to promote the DIO token, causing its price to surge to a peak of $0.98 at the time. This spike significantly increased the value of the tokens borrowed by Jump, bringing their worth to $9.8 million. 

However, the situation took a sharp turn when, according to the lawsuit, Jump began to “systematically” liquidate its holdings of the DIO token. 

This selling pressure led to a drastic decline in the token’s price, which plummeted to around $0.005, allowing Jump to repurchase the tokens at a fraction of their earlier value—approximately $53,000—before returning them to FractureLabs and terminating its market-making agreement.

Jump Trading Accused Of  ‘Pump And Dump’ Scheme

FractureLabs’ lawsuit also alleges that Jump Trading concealed its intentions to use the initial public offering of DIO as an opportunity for a “pump and dump” scheme, in alleged collusion with the HTX exchange. 

Jump had allegedly assured FractureLabs that it would maintain the price of the DIO token within certain parameters required by Huobi for the listing. 

Yet, the video game developer claims that Jump Trading’s actions caused the token’s price to fall outside of these agreed parameters, resulting in HTX refusing to refund a significant portion of a $1.5 million deposit made by FractureLabs in Tether’s USDT stablecoin.

In response to inquiries, HTX stated, “As this matter is now subject to ongoing litigation, and HTX is not named as a defendant, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

At the time of writing, the DIO token was trading at $0.014, representing a 171% price increase year-to-date.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Less than three weeks before the US elections, former President Donald Trump is holding steady, at least according to the betting markets. According to Polymarket, users bet on a nearly 59% chance that Trump will win over his Democratic Party rival, Kamala Harris, this November. Trump now boasts an 18-point lead, his biggest ever since Harris joined the race. Harris’ numbers dropped to 40.8%, based on the platform’s Presidential Election Winner 2024 polls.

While Trump’s numbers are improving, his coin launch has encountered a setback. World Liberty Financial’s token launch hit a roadblock Tuesday after the website suffered lengthy glitches and outages. According to reports, the website was inaccessible most of the day, and only around 4,300 unique addresses held the coin, way below the expected 100,000 individuals expected to participate.

Trump And His Crypto Dreams

Donald Trump led the launch of WLF’s token, which many view as his deeper engagement in the crypto space and can also help fund his campaign. Many also see his support for Bitcoin as a move to appeal to younger and tech-savvy voters.

Trump and his associates have been discussing this crypto project since August, calling it “The DeFiant Ones,” a play on its anti-establishment stance and decentralized finance (DeFi).

World Liberty Financial aims to transform into a crypto bank, and its co-founder, Zachary Folkman, expects over 100,000 individuals to be on their list to invest. However, due to multiple outages throughout the day, only around 4,300 wallets managed to hold the token, representing just 4% of the total in registration.

WLF And Its Crypto Roadmap

According to a WLF proposal, the launch aims to raise $300 million, giving its token a $1.5 billion valuation after the initial sale. According to Folkman, 20% of the token is allotted to its founding team, which includes Trump. 

The WLFI coin is a Regulation D token, allowing it to raise capital initially, even without an SEC registration. However, certain conditions must be satisfied, like restricting the sale size and limiting the event to high-worth individuals.

Crypto On The Ballot This November

The crypto chatter on Twitter/X and the latest betting market data from Polymarket suggest that crypto is on the ballot this November. Trump fired the opening salvo in May, stating that he’s the “crypto president” and has been posting pro-Bitcoin posts lately. Harris takes a more cautious approach and advocates for “new and innovative technologies.”

However, if we follow Polymarket’s data, Trump’s message resonates with this election cycle. Three weeks into the elections, he’s the current leader, accounting for over $561 million in betting volume compared to Harris’ $381 million.

Featured image from Council on Foreign Relations, chart from TradingView

Министерство юстиции США требует приговорить Илью Лихтенштейна, обвиняемого во взломе криптовалютной биржи Bitfinex в 2016 году и краже 120 000 биткоинов, к пяти годам тюремного заключения.

Инвесторы и аналитики применяют различные инструменты для прогнозирования цен на криптовалюты. Одни предпочитают технический анализ, другие — фундаментальный. А есть те, кто полагаются на математику, используя Power Law.

Эксперты банка JPMorgan опубликовали отчет, согласно которому общий хешрейт 14 крупнейших публичных майнеров биткоина в октябре достиг 28,9%. Таким образом, с начала года показатель вырос на 70%.

Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of Ripple Labs, has provided his expected timeline for the appeals process in the case against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His prediction provides insight into the procedural steps that both parties will take and indicates that the briefing process could drag on until July 2025.

Ripple Vs. SEC: Potential Appellate Timeline

FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett shared details of her conversation with Alderoty on October 15 via X. She reported: “Just had a great chat with Stuart Alderoty of Ripple who gave me a rundown of the appeals timeline. The SEC’s last day to file Form C (which will give some level of detail about what it plans to appeal) is tomorrow.” This implies that by today, October 16, the SEC must submit Form C, a document that will outline the specific aspects of the case it intends to challenge on appeal.

Terrett continued, relaying Alderoty’s insights: “Seven days later, Ripple will file its own Form C, which will give more details about its own cross-appeal. Both parties will then agree on a briefing schedule, and the SEC then has up to 90 days to file its first brief. Alderoty says he expects them to take the full 90 days. That opening brief will be a full recitation of all the legal arguments that the SEC will be making. Ripple will file a response and then its own brief.” According to Alderoty, “the full briefing process… will go through July 2025.”

The SEC’s decision to appeal follows the final ruling on August 7, 2024. Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a permanent injunction against Ripple Labs and its executives, while imposing a $125 million penalty for unregistered XRP sales. Already on July 13, 2023, Torres ruled that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP violated federal securities laws, deeming them unregistered securities offerings. However, it also concluded that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to the general public, as well as distributions to employees and third parties, did not constitute securities transactions.

On October 2, the SEC formally announced its intent to appeal the ruling by filing a “notice of appeal” to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Notably, the SEC has not yet articulated the specific grounds of its appeal. The forthcoming Form C is expected to provide more detailed information about the legal arguments the SEC plans to advance.

In response to the SEC’s appeal, Ripple announced on October 10 that it would file a cross-appeal. Stuart Alderoty stated via X: “The SEC lost on all key points—that’s why they appealed. Today, Ripple filed a cross-appeal to ensure nothing’s left on the table, including the argument that there can’t be an ‘investment contract’ without there being essential rights and obligations found in a contract.”

As Bitcoinist reported, pro-XRP lawyer Fred Rispoli also offered a prediction regarding the appellate timeline two weeks, which aligns with Alderoty’s expectations but extends the potential conclusion of the case into early 2026. Rispoli outlined the sequence of filings and responses leading up to oral arguments, scheduled for sometime between September and October 2025, with he expects a final ruling from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals not until at least January 2026.

At press time, XRP traded at $0.5430.

Following a rebound in the general market, major digital assets like Dogecoin have seen notable growth, attracting strong sentiment from investors and prompting several bullish price outlooks from enlightened crypto experts about DOGE’s potential in the near term.

Dogecoin’s Price Surge To $0.3 And Beyond Looms

Dogecoin’s renewed upward strength might not be ending soon as Dogegod, a market expert and trader has predicted that the dog-themed meme coin could be gearing up for a significant breakout that may trigger an extended price rally toward the $0.3 level.

The expert’s bullish projection suggests that Dogecoin might witness huge increases to crucial price levels based on its lengthy consolidation phase, reflecting the resilience of the meme coin over the years.

According to Dogegod, Dogecoin has been consolidating for several years while maintaining its support level of $.011. In the event that the crypto asset breaks out of this stabilizing phase, the market expert believes that the move might ignite a price rally up to the $0.30 level or even higher.

Dogedog prediction is part of a broader bullish attitude around the flagship meme coin, possibly triggered by a rise in adoption and growing support in the DOGE community.

Another market expert, Master Kenobi has also delved into the current price movement of Dogecoin, highlighting that the token has begun its bull run in comparison to past cycle trends, which preceded significant upswings.

Master Kenobi noted that in the previous cycle, DOGE started its bull run with 4 consecutive straight green weeks after 2 weeks of red weeks. Meanwhile, in the ongoing cycle, the digital asset has replicated the pattern as indicated by a green line on his chart. 

Kenobi stated that the previous bull run began about 175 days following the Bitcoin Halving event in 2020, whereas it seems that the current bull run started 20 days earlier. Thus, given that the recent Halving event occurred precisely 175 days ago, Kenobi claims the likelihood of experiencing additional red in the upcoming weeks is decreasing if the first 4 weeks were a fake-out.

DOGE On-Chain Activities See Major Growth 

It is worth noting that these optimistic forecasts for DOGE come in light of an increase in on-chain activities in the network. In the past few days, the number of Dogecoin’s active addresses has witnessed notable growth to new heights. Reports from Ali Martinez, a crypto expert revealed that the active addresses of DOGE recently surged to about 133,880, marking its highest level in the last 8 months.

This significant increase signals a renewed wave of interest and activity for the meme coin. It also reflects growing transactions on the network and greater participation from both retail and institutional investors.

TD Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the US, has come under intense crypto scrutiny after being hit with the largest penalty ever imposed under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

The $3.09 billion fine stems from allegations of failing to report suspicious activities, including significant cryptocurrency-related transactions.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) revealed that TD Bank processed billions of dollars through questionable accounts, raising concerns over the bank’s compliance practices in dealing with digital assets.

What Really Went Wrong?

In a report, FinCEN pointed out that TD Bank failed to properly monitor transactions for a specific client called “Customer Group C.” The unnamed company, which claimed to operate in sales finance and real estate, allegedly misled TD Bank about the volume and nature of its international transactions.

While Customer Group C initially reported that it would have transactions under $1 million annually, the company processed over $1 billion through TD Bank, much of it involving cryptocurrency. This discrepancy, combined with links to high-risk jurisdictions, drew the attention of US authorities.

According to FinCEN’s findings, the banking giant processed over 2,000 transactions for Customer Group C in just nine months. The firm brought in 90% of its funds from a UK-based crypto exchange and sent 60% to Colombian financial institutions involved in digital assets.

Customer Group C’s activities far exceeded the scope of what they initially declared during their onboarding with TD Bank, and they expanded their dealings into high-risk regions like China and the Middle East.

Despite these suspicious transactions and red flags related to risky jurisdictions and fast fund movements, TD Bank reportedly failed to report these transactions promptly. After receiving multiple law enforcement inquiries about Customer Group C, the bank only started flagging the activity.

FinCEN noted that TD Bank had some internal policies for monitoring transactions involving digital assets, but these controls were not adequately enforced in this case. As a result, millions of dollars in suspicious crypto transactions went unreported for months.

The Penalty

As of last week Thursday (October 10), TD Bank pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and money laundering laws. The bank agreed to pay $1.8 billion in fines as part of a settlement with the DOJ, and FinCEN imposed an additional $1.3 billion penalty.

According to the report, the combined $3.09 billion fine represents the largest penalty ever imposed under the BSA. As part of the agreement, TD Bank will also face a four-year monitorship to ensure it implements better compliance measures in the future.

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView